Do you want to bench more now?
Obviously the answer is yes…..
Do your wrists hurt when you bench?
If you said yes, I’ll help with that too.
One of the biggest and easiest to fix flaws on the bench that I have seen over the years is grip problems.
People seem the overlook this critical aspect of the lift.
Bar high in the hands, both wrist bent or worse, one wrist bent-you know what I mean, or do you?
Some people will go through an elaborate set up for the biggest bench possible, but miss the thing that LOCKS you into the bar-your grip.
I also hear about wrist pain from benching quite a bit.
What I am about to go over will add more control to your bench, allow you to be tighter and to bench press more.
It also takes a ton of strain off of your wrists.
PUT THE BAR DEEP INTO YOUR HANDS.
RIGHT WHERE DAN IS POINTING!
For the anatomy nerds we are talking about getting it as close to three bones as we can.
They are the:
- Lunate bone
- Pisiform bone
- Triquetrum bone
These are the three closest bones to the Ulna (forearm bone) on the heel of the hand.
Dig the bar deep into the crease between your thumb and forefinger and wrap your thumb in an “L” shape around the bar, move the bottom of your hand by the pinkie as close to the bar as you can.
DON'T DO THESE:
INSTEAD, DO THIS:
First, seat the bar deep in your hand.
Second, wrap your thumb.
Doing this will do a few things:
It places the bar as close to your center line as possible:
Something closer to our center line gives us better leverage. The further the object is from our center, the more difficult it is to lift.
The Log Press is a great example. People will have trouble until they get used to it because it is pushed away from your center due to the thickness of the Log. The bigger the diameter of the Log, the harder it is to press.
It’s the same concept here, but to a lesser degree, but we are looking for every opportunity to improve and move more weight right?
It allows you to keep a very straight wrist:
Not this!
Yes to this!
Dr. Hatfield always said the best way to lift the most weight and stay healthy is to line up the origin of the muscle with the insertion and he was right.
We need to keep the wrists straight for a few reasons and seating the bar DEEEEEP into the hand makes this a lot easier, and it allows us to apply more force into the bar.
With the weight close to the three bones listed and deep in the web of the hand you are lining everything for maximum force distribution. No power leaks as with the bent wrist.
It keeps the weight “stacked” over stacked joints:
Wrist pain, elbow pain and shoulder pain can all occur on the bench when you have joints out of alignment with big weights and lots of reps-it’s like an overuse injury, but different.
It’s a shitty technique injury.
You joints should be stacked on top of each othe like a row of poker chips.
Wrist over elbow, elbow over shoulder-nice and straight. This allows you to deliver force in a straight line with no leaks and less shear force on all of the involved joints.
Less shear equals less wear and tear over time.
That adds up to a long career.
It minimizes risk of nerve impingement:
This should be obvious. Your wrist has nerves running through it including the Radial and Ulnar.
If you load up a shit ton of weight in your hands and bend your wrists as you bench, isn’t it common sense to understand that you are asking for a nerve impingement?
If you’ve ever had nerve pain, you get it. Avoid this easily by simply keeping your wrists straight.
It gives you much more control over the bar:
This should require no explanation.
But here goes, with the bar seated deep in your hand and a firm grip established, your ability to keep it where it needs to be is much greater than if it is moving around in your hand, or if your wrists are cocked back at a ridiculous angle and it is 3” behind your forearm.
So, there it is, a five second fix with a five minute answer.
Keep those wrists straight on the bench kids and watch your total go up.
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Vincere vel mori
by: C.J. Murphy
March 28, 2019
